Loading...As most of you know, Jeff and I were on vacation this past week. We went to Myrtle Beach, with the express goals of resting, relaxing, and sleeping, with some sightseeing, and to spend some quality time on the beach. We were successful.
Each time we leave to go on a real vacation we strive to take a true break from our work, which I must honestly say is something we struggle to do every time.
Leaving is important. Rest, respite, relaxation, taking a break, to reconnect, rejuvenate, realign is necessary for every relationship. Yet we have deep relationships with the people we work with and the people we serve as a part of the work we each do.
So, it is difficult for us to separate from our everyday life, our responsibilities, and all the things we do on the daily that make us whole. Leaving, even if for a short time, has its own rhythm, its own mindset, and part of leaving, even if for a short time, means letting go of at least some of our responsibilities.
I can only imagine, then, how hard it was for Jesus to leave. Not just once, but twice: at his death and then at his ascension.
We heard a little bit about both in our readings today. The Gospel is from a part of John’s recollection of Jesus praying for his followers during the evening before his arrest in Gethsemane’s garden. It is a portion of what is called the Farewell Discourse—kind of his last opportunity to give final instructions and to pray over his followers before Jesus is separated from all of them, arrested, beaten, and killed.
We only heard a portion of the prayer today. It is one of my most favorite parts of any of the Gospels because it is Jesus being vulnerable with the people who have devoted their lives to him and his ministry.
He prays in their presence, for them, for their ministries, for their safety, for their camaraderie, acknowledging his deep affection for them, trusting that whatever they have learned from him they will be able to take with them and continue the work he began. And then, within hours, he is gone from their presence, at least for a few days. After the tomb is found empty, Jesus reappears, but only for 50 days.
The days between Jesus being resurrected and Jesus then ascending into heaven, are filled with visitations of the resurrected Jesus, times where he continues to teach, to encourage, to love these people with every last breath. And especially to remind them all that God is always with them. He knows these days are numbered and that this is his opportunity to give them everything they need, especially his trust that they really do have everything they need to spread the good news of God’s love to the world.
He knows that it will not be easy. He knows that there will be more sacrifices made and that some of his closest friends will die violent deaths for speaking the truth about God. He doesn’t sugar-coat it. He never did before, why would he now? He told them this would be dangerous, hard, complicated work, but if they could do this work without him physically present with them, they would be rewarded.
This past Thursday marked 50 days since his resurrection, and we were reminded of this important event in today’s lesson from Acts. Surrounded by the eleven apostles, Jesus gives them his last words, reminding them that the Holy Spirit will bring them whatever else they need to continue to witness—to tell the story of God’s love—to the ends of the earth.
And with that, they watch as Jesus is lifted up and carried into heaven to sit at the right hand of God.
It was time for Jesus to take his leave.
It may have seemed abrupt, but Jesus had prepared them for this moment. Even so… Can you imagine their astonishment as they watched him float away, out of their sight? Can you consider all the thoughts running through their heads? The “what if’s? The “what’s next?” The “what is to come of us?”
I bet those were some of the things they talked about as they returned to Jerusalem, to that upper room, where they could gather with others who would hear their interpretations of this miraculous story, and together they could plot out their next moves.
When we were driving home yesterday, Jeff and I were talking about what this might have been like. A bunch of men and a few women gathered in a room discerning what their next steps would be to continue the work of Jesus.
Jeff quipped: “It sounds like a vestry meeting.” Which made me giggle for a moment, but then reality set in. Yes. It does sound a little like a vestry meeting.
Just after noon today, your vestry will be meeting to discuss the business of doing church, we will pray, we will talk about how our ministries are impacting the world around us in God’s name, we will learn from one another, we will discern who is the right person to take something on, and we will make sure we have our financial resources in place to continue to offer all the things we do in the name of God.
What happened in that room was probably very similar. They had to figure out how to continue Jesus’s work: his healing, his teaching, his reconciling, his forgiveness to a world that might not understand what it means. They had to create teams and send them out into the world to do the work of evangelism and discipleship. They had to see what was in the purse, disburse it, and hope that it would suffice for the work at hand. They had to learn who knew how to fundraise, supply their daily needs, who knew the right people and places to fulfill their responsibilities.
Relying on one another to find the right pathway to continue this important work, utilizing gifts and talents and abilities and motivating people to share them. All, of course, in the name of God.
That’s what we do. We learn that we need one another to make things happen. We may have different knowledge and abilities than another person, but that’s what makes life beautiful.
Jeff and I were able to go on vacation because, thankfully, we have others we can trust to take on some of our responsibilities while we are away. They--you cannot do everything in the same ways we do them, but they--you have the skills and abilities and motivation to do much of what is necessary to keep everything moving smoothly while we are away. And it is certainly comforting to know we can depend on others to ensure that the work we do can and will go on without us.
Maybe that’s what the people who put the liturgical calendar together had in mind for us today. To remind us that Jesus had faith that the work he began can and will go on without his human presence. To remind us that because we have received the power of the Holy Spirit through our baptisms and our commitment to our faith, because we know we are loved beyond measure by our Creator, we can fulfill Jesus’s call to us to be witnesses of God’s love to the ends of the earth.
I can only imagine, how hard it was for Jesus to leave. Not just once, but twice: at his death and then at his ascension. But because of the depth of his trust in his followers, he knew that he was leaving this world in good hands. Theirs, and now ours. May we be filled with the Holy Spirit to do the work we have been given to do.
Amen.
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